Nov. 16, 2009
It took a little more than a half for Duquesne to find its game for openers. But after adjusting mentally and schematically at the break against Nicholls State, everything changed.
Eric Evans cut the turnovers from five to zero and raised his assist total from four to nine in the final 20 minutes.
Bill Clark scored on a succession of fast-break lay-ups on the way to 19 second-half points (finishing 8-for-12 from the field after going 0-for-2 prior to halftime).
Melquan Bolding kept scoring, Damian Saunders kept scoring and rebounding and Jason Duty got aggressive and got involved to the tune of eight second-half points and three second-half boards.
And after trailing Nicholls State, 36-33, at halftime Duquesne breezed to an 85-62 triumph at the Palumbo Center.
The Dukes will look for more of the same on Tuesday night at Iowa. But they'll also be looking for more from their big men as they up the ante, competition-wise, from the Southland Conference to the Big Ten, and as they continue to traverse their non-conference schedule.
Iowa opened its season with a 62-50 home loss to Texas-San Antonio of the same Southland Conference as Nicholls State on Sunday.
"I don't know if we can play small against (Iowa) and be real successful because of the way they're going to attack us at the rim," Everhart said.
Iowa started 6-foot-7 forward Jared Cole and brought 6-9 forward-center Brennan Cougill off the bench (four minutes) against UT-San Antonio.
But whether it's Tuesday night or down the road Duquesne knows there will be days and nights when matching up with a bigger lineup will be preferable if not essential.
The Dukes starting lineup went 6-7 (Saunders), 6-5 (Clark), 6-3 (Bolding), 6-1 (Duty) and 5-11 (Evans) against Nicholls State.
There's size available off the bench, but it remains in the developmental stage. Redshirt-freshman Rodrigo Peggau (6-8, 235 pounds), who's coming off knee surgery, played six minutes in the opener, and contributed three personal fouls and blocked a shot.
Junior Morakinyo Williams (7-0, 270), eligible this season after transferring from Kentucky, was on the court for four minutes and finished 0-for-1 from the field. Both have the potential to contribute a great deal more.
"I hope so," Everhart said.
Peggau has a "world of potential," Everhart continued. "It'd be nice to keep him in the game without fouling. He has to understand, he hasn't played in two years, this is not Brazil (Peggau is a native of Sao Paulo). They're going to blow the whistle. He has to be smart.
"I think he's very good and I think he will be very good for us."
Williams "needs to get involved more," Everhart said. "I think he needs to become better defensively. I think after a year sitting out he just has to get a feel for the game, get his rhythm back."
Sophomore Oliver Lewinson (6-9, 255) is also among those in the mix as a size provider after averaging just over eight minutes a game last season.
"Lewinson's given us some good minutes in practice," Everhart said. "I just didn't go with him (against Nicholls State)."
As these guys go, to extent, so will Duquesne.
They're not headliners, but if one or more becomes a difference-maker the Dukes will be that much closer to fulfilling expectations that are justifiably higher than they've been in years.
To do so will require athleticism as well as bulk because Everhart intends to keep the pedal down.
"I'd love to keep the tempo up," he said. "I'd love to go to a pass-and-move, dribble-drive offense to stay away from the pressure `D' that we faced (against Nicholls State).
"We'll see how we'll develop."
